


The Long Wait

by Sir_Thopas



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Character Death, Death from Old Age, Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27137243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sir_Thopas/pseuds/Sir_Thopas
Summary: Stan's eyes were cloudy with pain. He looked small, which waswrong. Grunkle Stan was larger than life. Mabel sat in the chair and waited.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	The Long Wait

Mabel had been lying in bed, flipping through her art history textbook and debating whether she should go ahead and start on her term paper or toss the book in favor of a night in with popcorn and cheesy vampire movies when she got the call.

Mabel scrounged around for her phone as it vibrated sonewhere underneath the blankets. "Hey, Dipping Sauce," she chirped when she finally found it.

"How soon can you come home?" Dipper asked without so much as a 'hello.' He was using his 'this is very serious and I am an adult' voice. "Can you ask your professors for a leave of absence?"

"Uhh..." Mabel jerked upright and she saw her roommate give her a concerned look from their desk. "Yeah, I don't think that'll be a problem. What's up? Is something wrong?"

"I think you better get to Gravity Falls. Sooner than later. Stan isn't doing too good. I think--" Dipper's voice hitched. "It might be time."

Mabel hadn't bothered to wait for permission from her professors, only barely remembering to send them an email from the airport. She didn't care if they failed her; her Grunkle needed her.

She was a wreck all during the flight. Three hours was such a long time. Anything could happen. _Nothing was going to happen_ , she harshly reminded herself. Grunkle Stan had punched a pterodactyl in the face! He was going to laugh himself silly when he saw how worked up everyone was getting. Mabel sucked in a breath and let it out slowly between her teeth. She closed her eyes and felt the way his arms had wrapped around her when she was a child, safe and protected. Not as they felt now, when she was too tall and his waist and arms too thin.

Dad was waiting for her at the airport. "How are you holding up, sweetie?" He asked as they climbed into Soos's jeep. Mabel shrugged and refused to look up from the last text Dipper had sent: _no change_. That was good, wasn't it? At least, she didn't think it was _bad_.

It was still another hour before they reached Gravity Falls.

The mid-March sun was beating on the lingering hints of snow, turning the ground into a gray slush. Dad drove slowly, to keep from spinning out. The minutes added on. Mabel sucked in a breath when they finally pulled around the bend in the forest and there was the Mystery Shack. Dad drove around to the back, parking in front of the house Soos had built with Melody.

Mabel jumped out of the car and was racing up the stairs before Dad had even put the jeep in park. Mom was with Melody in the kitchen, sipping coffee and talking in low voices. "I just talked to Sherman. He's devastated that he can't come up, but he just had that surgery, and oh-- Mabel, honey, they're all in Stan's room. Go on in. Mason's been asking when you'll arrive."

Mabel nodded and looked past the staircase, down the hall that had been a guest room until Grunkle Stan moved in permanently. His memory had never been quite the same after Weirdmageddon. He knew Mabel and Dipper, could recall each and every moment he had spent with them and Mabel had felt a vicious and possessive sort of pride at that. He had loved her so much that even when everything else was gone she remained. His years as a drifter were spotty, his high school days hazy, Filbrick was almost non-existent. But not her, not Dipper.

Grunkle Ford said his recovery had "plateaued." Mabel could remember when her Grunkles had come to California for a visit. He had shuffled into the kitchen from the guest bedroom, where Mabel had been eating a bowl of Fruit Loops. "You want a glass of orange juice, pumpkin?" Stan asked as he grabbed the carton from the fridge and poured himself one.

"No thanks, I'm good!"

Stan nodded, drank his OJ, put the glass in the sink and sat at the table. After a few minutes, he got up, pulled the carton back out and got himself a new glass. "You want a glass of orange juice, pumpkin?"

"Uhh... no, still... still good."

Stan didn't answer. He just stared at the already dirty glass in the sink like he had no idea how it got there. Grunkle Ford decided they would stop sailing soon after that.

Mabel stared at the yellow door, took a deep breath, and pushed it open. It took her a moment to find her Grunkle. He looked so small in the bed. She could see a sliver of his dark eyes peeking through the half-closed lids, but they didn't move when she came in. Didn't recognize her. His breaths were wispy and rattled with each intake. He didn't move, didn't react. Just breathed. That was enough for Mabel. Ford sat by his head, his hands clutching Stan's. "It's alright," he whispered near his temple. "You can let go now. We're going to be alright."

The scene was torn from her, blocked by Soos's body. She felt his arms wrap around her and it reminded her so much of when she was little, with Stan holding her, that she sagged and let out a choked sob.

She finally pulled back and wiped at the wet stain she had left on Soos's shirt. Soos gave a little laugh. "It's okay," he whispered. "That's not the worst stain on here."

Mabel gave a soft chuckle and looked to see Dipper sitting in a corner, wringing his hands, pale and frightened. He jumped up from the chair and gestured her towards it. "Here, take a seat."

"You two should go outside, get some fresh air while you can," Ford spoke. He didn't take his eyes off of Stan. "It'll be a while yet."

Mabel's stomach did a weird little flip. "Are you sure?" Dipper asked.

"I'm sure." There was no hesitation in his voice. "I'll come get you if there's any change. Go on."

Dipper reached out and Mabel met him half-way, clasping his hand as Soos led them back out the bedroom. He gave them a sad smile and Mabel was suddenly struck with the fact that Ford hadn't asked Soos to leave. Surely he needed a breather too. But the door closed and Dipper was pulling her outside.

The sun was too bright, too warm. She blinked away the dots dancing in front of her vision and caught just a glimpse of something red darting through the trees. "Was that a gnome?" She asked, pointing to where it had disappeared. She was still holding Dipper's hand.

"Maybe we should turn on the sprinklers, scare them off before they can get into the garbage."

Mabel tugged him toward the tree line and they spent twenty minutes picking their way through the underbrush, searching for little gnomish footprints.

They heard the screen door open and Melody stood on the porch. She said something, her voice too small to be heard. She coughed and tried again. "Kids? Come inside."

Mabel ran up the steps, Dipper close at her heels. "How is he?"

Melody's hands fluttered, and she coughed again, running her hand underneath her nose. "It's happened. Stan's gone."

Mabel froze.

Dipper shook his head. "Great Uncle Ford would have called us."

"I'm so sorry--"

Dipper pushed past her and Mabel latched onto his hand again before he could leave her behind. He stormed into the living room, towards their Grunkle's door. Ford blocked them, closing it firmly behind him. "You don't need to go in there," he said. "Soos is arranging the body. Someone from the funeral home will be here in about thirty minutes."

Dipper glared at him, his voice accusing. "You were supposed to get us."

"I didn't want you to see."

Mabel tugged on Dipper's hand. She didn't want to fight about it. It wasn't right to do that after... Dipper let her pull him away. Their parents were sitting on the couch and Mabel buried herself between them. Her Mom ran her fingers through her hair and Mabel let her head droop onto her shoulder. "Are you going to be okay, sweetheart?" She asked.

Mabel nodded her head. Soos came out a few minutes later and they all sat around, talking, waiting, eating. Mabel opened her eyes at the crinkling sounds of tires over rocks as a car pulled up the dirt driveway. There was a knock at the door and Melody left the couch to answer it. There were low voices. Soos and Ford and her parents all wandered over to where the mortician was waiting. "We still remember what he did for us," the man was saying.

Mabel glanced at the door that led to Stan's bedroom. She looked at Dipper and he nodded. He already knew what she was thinking. What she needed. Dipper stayed on the couch, keeping watch as Mabel crept toward the bedroom and stepped inside. Stan's rattled breathing was gone. He was laid out on the bed, ready to be taken somewhere dark and lonely. Where Mabel would never get to see him again. She moved closer and peered at his face.

It wasn't her Stan.

It was some other old man, someone she didn't know. His skin was yellow and hung off of his face like dripping wax. _They mistook Grunkle Stan for Wax Stanley_ , she thought. That was when the smell hit her. Mabel burst into tears, gasping for air that wouldn't reach her lungs. She couldn't breathe. Her Grunkle was gone.

A pair of large hands -- twelve fingers, six on each hand, hard and warm -- pulled her out of the room and wrapped her up in a fierce hug, hiding her face into his coat.


End file.
